Qatar to Buy Two A330 MRTT RefuellersAirbus Defence and Space has won a contract from Qatar for two A330 MRTT new generation air-to-air refuelling aircraft for the Qatar Emiri Air Force.

Qatar becomes the seventh nation to select the A330 MRTT following Australia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom which have ordered a total of 34 aircraft. India is in the final stages of contractual negotiations for six aircraft. A total of 17 aircraft are currently in service with the customer nations.

The A330 MRTT is derived from the highly successful A330 commercial airliner and proven in-service as a tanker/transport with multi-role capability.

Below, while at the Singapore Air Show 2012, Ian Elliot, Head of Defense Capability Market Development at Airbus Military, comments on the A330 MRTT, its multi-role assets and its market. He underlines the great versatility of the A330 aircraft it is based on that can either offer a passenger version, a freighter version or a tanker version. The A330 MRTT brought to Singapore that year for display was outfitted in the UK Royal Air Force’s FSTA (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft) configuration

The Airbus Defence and Space A330 MRTT is the only new generation strategic tanker/transport aircraft flying and available today. The large 111 tonnes/ 245,000 lb basic fuel capacity of the successful A330-200 airliner, from which it is derived, enables the A330 MRTT to excel in air-to-air refuelling missions without the need for any additional fuel tank.

Source: (defenseworld.net) News – 30 March 2014

Photo: The Qatar Emiri Air Force Airbus A330 MRTT new generation air-to-air refueling aircraft. The first A330-200 MRTT ( KC-30A Voyager) for the Royal Australian Air Force taking off for a test flight from Getafe Air Base in Spain
(Photo by wikipedia.org)